Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.real From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: real Fri, Jun 5 1992 Date: Fri, 5 Jun 92 05:20:08 EDT Message-ID: 06-05 0000 DECISIONLINE: Real Estate USA TODAY Update June 5-7, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network NEW APPRAISAL SYSTEM OPPOSED: Bank regulators' plans for a two-tier appraisal system will take effect nationwide in January. Real-estate transactions worth more than $100,000 will have to be valued by certified or licensed appraisers. For deals worth less than $100,000, appraisers will not have to be certified. The current threshold for a deal requiring a certified appraiser is $50,000. (For more, see special Appraisals package below.) MOSCOW DEVELOPMENT EXPANDING: Atlanta-based Westminster Group, New America Network, a franchise organization of 140 U.S. brokerages, and Moscapstroi, the real-estate development arm of the Moscow city council, set up a joint venture last month in Moscow. Among their clients are two Fortune 500 companies looking for apartments and homebuilder Ryland Group, which is shopping for home sites. STUDY SHOWS BUSIEST AGENTS: RE:MAX Professionals in Lawton, Okla., was the most productive real-estate agency in the USA last year, says a study by industry newsletter Real Trends. Agents there averaged 53 transactions - either a listing or a completed sale. The nationwide average is 14 a year. The largest firm ranked by transactions was Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, which has 479 company-owned offices. HOTELS HOLD DOWN LOSSES: The hotel industry cut its losses in half last year, according to Smith Travel Research and the Arthur Andersen Real Estate Group. Hotels lost $2.7 billion last year, down from $5.5 billion in 1990. Cost-cutting measures, such as layoffs and reduced hours, and lower interest rates aided the industry. Hotels should be profitable again soon, says Randy Smith, president of Smith Travel Research. FLA. TAXES MAY DROP: Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles' "fair share" tax reform proposal would cut school property taxes if adopted by the Legislature. Chiles' plan calls for cutting school property taxes on homestead properties to correct an unfair burden on property owners. The state would pay a greater share of school budgets through sales and business taxes. PORTSMOUTH OFFERS MORTGAGE HELP: A new program will offer help to Portsmouth, N.H., residents who are unable to make their mortgage payments. Residents will be able to get loans carrying 6% interest from a program that was created by a $15,000 grant from the Greater Portsmouth Community Foundation. MISS. EXTENDS HOME GRANTS: Thirteen substandard homes in Cruger, Miss., will be renovated beginning Monday under a $500,000 state grant. Contractors, who will have 30 days to renovate each house, expect to complete work on all 13 homes by December. FIXED-RATE MORTGAGES STABLE: The rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages from the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. were listed at 8.60% Thursday, unchanged from Wednesday but up from 8.53% the week before. They were at 9.45% a year ago. For 30-year adjustable-rate mortgages, the rates were 5.96%, unchanged from Wednesday but up from 5.93% the week before. A year ago they were at 7.17%. ARM INDEXES UNCHANGED: The one-year Treasury ARM index rates were listed at 4.27% Thursday, unchanged from Wednesday but up from 4.12% the week before. A year ago they were at 6.13%. For the 11th District ARM index, rates were at 5.427%, unchanged from Wednesday but down from 5.611% the week before. A year ago they were at 7.501%. T-BONDS UNCHANGED: Treasury security rates for the 30-year bonds remained unchanged Thursday, listing at 7.87%. That's unchanged from rates of 7.87% Wednesday but up 0.01 from rates of 7.86% the week before. A year ago T-bonds were at 8.42%. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON APPRAISALS: HIGHER COST ARGUMENT DEBUNKED: A nationwide two-tier appraisal system would hurt lower-income home buyers, says the Consumer Federation of America, which advocates certified or licensed appraisals for all transactions. The CFA says certification won't raise home-buying costs. A CFA survey of appraisers in 20 cities found almost all have some kind of certification, and that doesn't affect what they charge. PLANS TO FACE LEGAL CHALLENGES: Since licensed appraisals don't drive home-buying costs, there's no reason why every homebuyer should not have this coverage, says Peggy Miller, the CFA's banking director. The Appraisal Institute, a trade group, is preparing to sue banking regulators over the two-tier proposal. (End of package.) Real Estate Editor: Christopher Goldthwaite. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM